Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - 2:03 PM

Yes, those pesky giant pandas from Sichuan province are causing trouble again. Earlier this month, we noted that the media was hailing the arrival of Sweetie and Sunshine at the Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland as the latest chapter in China's grand tradition of "panda diplomacy," even though the arrangement more crassly involved a $1 million, 10-year lease and five years of painstaking negotiations.
Now, the BBC has gone and included Sweetie in its list of the 12 women who made headlines in 2011. The honor raises several questions. How, for example, should U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Dominique Strauss-Kahn accuser Nafissatou Diallo feel appearing alongside a panda? How should the panda feel? And why did Sweetie's male counterpart, Sunshine, not make the BBC's list of the 12 men who made headlines in 2011? Why, for that matter, are the BBC's top men all human?
The BBC's list has sparked heated discussion on Twitter, giving rise, as all Twitter tempests do, to the obligatory hashtag (#pandagate) and fake Twitter account (@SweetiethePanda). Former Labour Party politician John Prescott notes that the inclusion of the panda comes shortly after the BBC failed to nominate a woman for its Sports Personality of the Year award. British researcher Paul Bernal carries the BBC's reasoning to its logical extension, noting that the chimpanzee who starred in Tarzan films in the 1930s died today."Surely that means he should be on the BBC's men [of] the year list," Bernal points out.
For a number of people, the BBC's decision to include Sweetie smacks of sexism. "Here's why #pandagate matters: 3 out of 4 people in the news are men," writes Time's Catherine Mayer. "Don't give the 1 female slot to a panda." Some of these critics see the BBC's entire list as flawed. As the Twitter user @stavvers succinctly puts it, "Newsworthy acts by women in 2011: getting raped, getting married, being a panda." The blog London Feminist points out that only four of the BBC's 11 women (not counting Sweetie) made headlines for being "active participants in the news." The others, the blog maintains, were passive actors in world affairs:
Our passive women are: Gabrielle Giffords (got shot in the head and survived), Eman al-Obeidi (beaten and gang-raped by Gaddafi's militia), Nafissatou Diallo (was allegedly subjected to a sexual attack by DSK), Jelena Lecic (her identity was stolen by a man pretending to be a Middle Eastern blogger), Charlene Wittstock (wept as she reluctantly married the Prince of Monaco - seriously, this woman's fame is not something we as a society should be proud of), Rebecca Leighton (got falsely accused of murder) and Kelsey de Santis (got taken on a date by Justin Timberlake).
Over at the New Statesman, Laurie Penny argues that people should respond to the BBC's ranking by thinking about "not just whether a given list conforms to our ideals of how and on what basis women should be celebrated, but also whether life conforms to our ideals." She also gets in a withering dig at pandas:
The thing about pandas is that they're the most useless evolutionary dead end ever to be preserved, at great expense, in the name of sentiment and nationalist flim-flammery. They're cowardly. They hate sex.
Not everyone is outraged about Pandagate, however. Some are finding humor in the controversy. "I'm rather torn over #pandagate," observes Twitter user Dan Fox. "These things are never just black or white." Media consultant Huw Marshall, meanwhile, feels sorry for Sweetie. "Finally a girl panda gets the recognition she deserves and she gets treated as a 2nd class citizen," he writes.
And others don't see what all the fuss is about. The BBC is circulating a statement noting that Sweetie was a "light-hearted addition to the list," and that previous "Faces of the Year" lists have included Benson the Carp (male) and Peppa the Pig (female). "Surely #pandagate was intended as an amusing round-up, not a serious roll call of achievement," British journalist Helen Barrett tweets. "Struggling to be outraged."
Yet the outrage persists. The notion of "panda diplomacy" now seems even harder to stomach.
They should have included Amanda Knox. At least she actually killed someone!
Two nations divided by a common language
It's often said in England that Americans don't understand irony; feminists don't seem to understand whimsy either.
OK. You Just Don't Get British Humor...
It isn't the first time there have been similar awards made in this award in past years. Elsewhere in "Foreign Policy" you can hardly move for complaints about an all pervading political correctness. It's the holiday season. Lighten up!
“a Catholic-based advocacy organization established to help elect pro-life, pro-family and pro-religious liberty candidates to public office”) has announced that they will be using the resignations of Edwards’ bloggers (the second as of today) as a springboard for a series of ads, designed to draw attention this pressing issue:
Cella said: “This whole episode calls into question whether Edwards has the decisiveness and moral courage to lead our country.”
If having the “moral courage” to fire intemperate bloggers is the new Presidential litmus test, I suggest Obama go on a hiring spree over at Fleshbot.
That this blogger brouhaha has morphed into some resembling an actual news story (covered by the New York Times, ads, press releases) still kind of shocks me. While this narrative could be twisted to serve as evidence of the blogosphere’s growing power, it’s really a testament to the power of rage as a communications strategy (something bloggers know a thing or two about). Bill Donohue is a paranoid loon who would be right at home under a tin-foil miter — now the Edwards campaign has a black eye that is enormously disproportionate to the error it made: I’d say their mistake wasn’t hiring Marcotte so much as it was not doing the due diligence that either would have weighed against her employment or (having hired her with full knowledge of her past writings) at least would have prepared them for the outcry that was to come.
Speaking of due diligence, will news organizations in the future please look up some of the incendiary things Donohue has said in the past before quoting him about bigotry? At the very least, they should put his “anti-Catholic” slur in context. He’s used the term so much (against such noted enemies of faith as Bill O’Reilly and Ann Landers) that at this point, it’s what he shouts during any moment of ecstasy, religious or otherwise.
Read more: http://swampland.time.com/2007/02/14/pandagate_fallout_continues/#ixzz1i26JVM80
thanks
professional web design
Aww it is looking really cute. :)
Over the past few years, there has been a growing tendency to dub Muslims as terrorists. And leading from the front in this blame game is none other than the superpower, the United States. It is extremely sad that such a tolerant and loving community is being dubbed as behind the terror outfits.
It is gross injustice that the Muslims of this world are being treated as second class. How many of you think that Muslims are behind the terror plots, no matter where they happen? No doubt most of the terror outfits are comprised of Muslims, but is it correct to say that all Muslims are terrorists? If we look at the community as a whole, the Muslims will outnumber almost the rest. Indeed most of the rich nations are Muslim nations.
There are a few misguided youth who have spoilt the spirit of Islam, disturbed the Muslim norms, created havoc in the world, revoked the laws of the land, disturbed peace, affected fraternal relations, and above all marginalised the facets and tenets of the KORAN --the Holy Book-- that has been leading several generations ever since it came into being. It is not just the Muslims that bow before the Koran, I being a non-Muslim, too, bow before the most sacred book, and I have no doubt in saying that millions of non-Muslims treat the Koran as their HOLY BOOK--much like the Geeta of Hindus, the Bible of Christains, and the Guru Granth Sahib Ji of Sikhs. All these sacred, religious books preach their followers fraternity, brotherhood, and love for all --no matter which religion they belong. Wouldn't it have been wonderful, had all of us followed our religion, keeping in mind the sanctity of all other religions?
this is my request to everyone..standby your faith, your religion, your prayer, your worship, your norms, but for God's sake don't use the pious name of God for violence, waging wars, letting bloodshed, diluting sacred human values, massacring men, women, children and old n infirm,---just for the sake of POWER n SUPREMACY over others.
ASK God when, you leave for haven, how correct are those indulging in gross human rights violations just to gain power n prestige just to create dread, fear n havoc in the world.
Muslims are a religious community, who believe in the sanctity n virtues of the Koran n the Prophet --the Great Prophet, who taught them to fight those who kill innocents, to wage a jihad against those who r antihuman-- not against all n sundry..
So, how did Muslims started being dubbed as terrorists? Being a community rich of strength n valor, the powerful Muslim lords saw themselves reaping dividends by ruling over the world. Just this was the beginning...n the rest is history, v much the present--may b d future too.
But can we let the blood of our brethren, n fellow citizens flow like this in suicide bombings, bomb blasts n all such atrocious tactics of the so-called terrorists? The disgruntled few r in a state of dissatisfaction n to satisfy themselves have started waging a war on innocents that they call as jihad. however, they fail to understand that in doing so, they have tarnished the sacred name of ISLAM, n invited criticism from world over..resulting in the world calling the entire Muslim community as associated with terrorists.
For God's sake stop calling Muslims terrorists. They are a community that loves its religion, its God, its Prophet, and upkeep human values. The dissatisfied n misled among them r the real culprits, who need to be justified. I have so many Muslim friends and trust me, they all believe in upkeeping human values, they believe in brotherhood, fraternity, their heart cries at the suicide bombings, their lives r disturbed by terrorist activities. They love humanity, first.
Do you know so many Muslims have died in the suicide bombings and bomb blasts? If the terroists who care so much for their religion, loved their religion n fellow Muslims, will they kill them? Will they place bombs at places where muslims r predominant? will they target muslim locations n habitations?
they have targetted muslim habitations..hyderabad in INDIA is a glaring example, where so many muslims were killed in the blast incide the mosque. such disgruntled elements placed the bombs inside the mosque only to create misunderstanding between different communities so that people fight each other out, which would result in the victory of the terrorists.
A Muslim scholar from Pakistan says: "Our religion teaches us that the murder of an innocent person is the murder of humanity as a whole. "
MUSLIMS r not terrorists. muslims r friends n fellow citizens. please do not mistake such a tolerant community because of a misled few!Over the past few years, there has been a growing tendency to dub Muslims as terrorists. And leading from the front in this blame game is none other than the superpower, the United States. It is extremely sad that such a tolerant and loving community is being dubbed as behind the terror outfits.
It is gross injustice that the Muslims of this world are being treated as second class. How many of you think that Muslims are behind the terror plots, no matter where they happen? No doubt most of the terror outfits are comprised of Muslims, but is it correct to say that all Muslims are terrorists? If we look at the community as a whole, the Muslims will outnumber almost the rest. Indeed most of the rich nations are Muslim nations.
There are a few misguided youth who have spoilt the spirit of Islam, disturbed the Muslim norms, created havoc in the world, revoked the laws of the land, disturbed peace, affected fraternal relations, and above all marginalised the facets and tenets of the KORAN --the Holy Book-- that has been leading several generations ever since it came into being. It is not just the Muslims that bow before the Koran, I being a non-Muslim, too, bow before the most sacred book, and I have no doubt in saying that millions of non-Muslims treat the Koran as their HOLY BOOK--much like the Geeta of Hindus, the Bible of Christains, and the Guru Granth Sahib Ji of Sikhs. All these sacred, religious books preach their followers fraternity, brotherhood, and love for all --no matter which religion they belong. Wouldn't it have been wonderful, had all of us followed our religion, keeping in mind the sanctity of all other religions?
this is my request to everyone..standby your faith, your religion, your prayer, your worship, your norms, but for God's sake don't use the pious name of God for violence, waging wars, letting bloodshed, diluting sacred human values, massacring men, women, children and old n infirm,---just for the sake of POWER n SUPREMACY over others.
ASK God when, you leave for haven, how correct are those indulging in gross human rights violations just to gain power n prestige just to create dread, fear n havoc in the world.
Muslims are a religious community, who believe in the sanctity n virtues of the Koran n the Prophet --the Great Prophet, who taught them to fight those who kill innocents, to wage a jihad against those who r antihuman-- not against all n sundry..
So, how did Muslims started being dubbed as terrorists? Being a community rich of strength n valor, the powerful Muslim lords saw themselves reaping dividends by ruling over the world. Just this was the beginning...n the rest is history, v much the present--may b d future too.
But can we let the blood of our brethren, n fellow citizens flow like this in suicide bombings, bomb blasts n all such atrocious tactics of the so-called terrorists? The disgruntled few r in a state of dissatisfaction n to satisfy themselves have started waging a war on innocents that they call as jihad. however, they fail to understand that in doing so, they have tarnished the sacred name of ISLAM, n invited criticism from world over..resulting in the world calling the entire Muslim community as associated with terrorists.
For God's sake stop calling Muslims terrorists. They are a community that loves its religion, its God, its Prophet, and upkeep human values. The dissatisfied n misled among them r the real culprits, who need to be justified. I have so many Muslim friends and trust me, they all believe in upkeeping human values, they believe in brotherhood, fraternity, their heart cries at the suicide bombings, their lives r disturbed by terrorist activities. They love humanity, first.
Do you know so many Muslims have died in the suicide bombings and bomb blasts? If the terroists who care so much for their religion, loved their religion n fellow Muslims, will they kill them? Will they place bombs at places where muslims r predominant? will they target muslim locations n habitations?
they have targetted muslim habitations..hyderabad in INDIA is a glaring example, where so many muslims were killed in the blast incide the mosque. such disgruntled elements placed the bombs inside the mosque only to create misunderstanding between different communities so that people fight each other out, which would result in the victory of the terrorists.
A Muslim scholar from Pakistan says: "Our religion teaches us that the murder of an innocent person is the murder of humanity as a whole. "
MUSLIMS r not terrorists. muslims r friends n fellow citizens. please do not mistake such a tolerant community because of a misled few!Over the past few years, there has been a growing tendency to dub Muslims as terrorists. And leading from the front in this blame game is none other than the superpower, the United States. It is extremely sad that such a tolerant and loving community is being dubbed as behind the terror outfits.
It is gross injustice that the Muslims of this world are being treated as second class. How many of you think that Muslims are behind the terror plots, no matter where they happen? No doubt most of the terror outfits are comprised of Muslims, but is it correct to say that all Muslims are terrorists? If we look at the community as a whole, the Muslims will outnumber almost the rest. Indeed most of the rich nations are Muslim nations.
There are a few misguided youth who have spoilt the spirit of Islam, disturbed the Muslim norms, created havoc in the world, revoked the laws of the land, disturbed peace, affected fraternal relations, and above all marginalised the facets and tenets of the KORAN --the Holy Book-- that has been leading several generations ever since it came into being. It is not just the Muslims that bow before the Koran, I being a non-Muslim, too, bow before the most sacred book, and I have no doubt in saying that millions of non-Muslims treat the Koran as their HOLY BOOK--much like the Geeta of Hindus, the Bible of Christains, and the Guru Granth Sahib Ji of Sikhs. All these sacred, religious books preach their followers fraternity, brotherhood, and love for all --no matter which religion they belong. Wouldn't it have been wonderful, had all of us followed our religion, keeping in mind the sanctity of all other religions?
this is my request to everyone..standby your faith, your religion, your prayer, your worship, your norms, but for God's sake don't use the pious name of God for violence, waging wars, letting bloodshed, diluting sacred human values, massacring men, women, children and old n infirm,---just for the sake of POWER n SUPREMACY over others.
ASK God when, you leave for haven, how correct are those indulging in gross human rights violations just to gain power n prestige just to create dread, fear n havoc in the world.
Muslims are a religious community, who believe in the sanctity n virtues of the Koran n the Prophet --the Great Prophet, who taught them to fight those who kill innocents, to wage a jihad against those who r antihuman-- not against all n sundry..
So, how did Muslims started being dubbed as terrorists? Being a community rich of strength n valor, the powerful Muslim lords saw themselves reaping dividends by ruling over the world. Just this was the beginning...n the rest is history, v much the present--may b d future too.
But can we let the blood of our brethren, n fellow citizens flow like this in suicide bombings, bomb blasts n all such atrocious tactics of the so-called terrorists? The disgruntled few r in a state of dissatisfaction n to satisfy themselves have started waging a war on innocents that they call as jihad. however, they fail to understand that in doing so, they have tarnished the sacred name of ISLAM, n invited criticism from world over..resulting in the world calling the entire Muslim community as associated with terrorists.
For God's sake stop calling Muslims terrorists. They are a community that loves its religion, its God, its Prophet, and upkeep human values. The dissatisfied n misled among them r the real culprits, who need to be justified. I have so many Muslim friends and trust me, they all believe in upkeeping human values, they believe in brotherhood, fraternity, their heart cries at the suicide bombings, their lives r disturbed by terrorist activities. They love humanity, first.
Do you know so many Muslims have died in the suicide bombings and bomb blasts? If the terroists who care so much for their religion, loved their religion n fellow Muslims, will they kill them? Will they place bombs at places where muslims r predominant? will they target muslim locations n habitations?
they have targetted muslim habitations..hyderabad in INDIA is a glaring example, where so many muslims were killed in the blast incide the mosque. such disgruntled elements placed the bombs inside the mosque only to create misunderstanding between different communities so that people fight each other out, which would result in the victory of the terrorists.
A Muslim scholar from Pakistan says: "Our religion teaches us that the murder of an innocent person is the murder of humanity as a whole. "
MUSLIMS r not terrorists. muslims r friends n fellow citizens. please do not mistake such a tolerant community because of a misled few!
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Excellent work. This is really nice job. :)
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This tells you something about people
I just flicked through the Kim Jong-Il funeral articles, which had one or two legitimate comments each, and then saw this article (with 6 comments). It's kind of amazing that a British panda gets more press than the deceased Communist leader of the world's last truly Communist states. Admittedly, I'm as guilty of anyone. Why would I want to program inexpensive point of sale software when I could be reading about celebrity pandas?
It is gross injustice that the Muslims of this world are being treated as second class. How many of you think that Muslims are behind the terror plots, no matter where they happen? No doubt most of the terror outfits are comprised of Muslims, but is it correct to say that all Muslims are terrorists? If we drinkingblog look at the community as a whole, the Muslims will outnumber almost the rest. Indeed most of the rich nations are Muslim nations.
Passport, FP’s flagship blog, brings you news and hidden angles on the biggest stories of the day, as well as insights and under-the-radar gems from around the world.
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